Saturday, February 11, 2012

Use Spatial Data to Make Your Fleet More Efficient

For many organizations, tracking and working with geographic data is crucial to their operations. Spatial data or geospatial data combines geographic elements with other data to create useful data that can make the challenge of managing operations over large areas easier to tackle. The military uses spatial data to identify enemy positions and enhance missions, and businesses like direct mail companies use spatial data to deliver more targeted messages to potential customers.

Another industry that uses geospatial data on a regular basis is the transportation industry. This may include trucking companies, couriers, taxis, buses and any other business that relies on a fleet of vehicles for the bulk of its operation. When spatial data is included in the business plan of a transportation-based business, several benefits are realized that would be absent without it.

One way that spatial data enhances the transportation industry is through mapping. In the trucking industry and with couriers and other delivery drivers, thousands of dollars can be lost each year simply because of inaccurate routing to the destination. With geospatial data, dispatchers can relay the most accurate and efficient routes to the drivers, so they won't get off track and will save on fuel and maintenance costs. This is especially true for vehicles that have to travel longer distances with more wear and tear on the vehicles.

Another way that geospatial data can help with the mapping of delivery routes and all driving routes is the ability to warn of upcoming problems. If a serious accident, flooding of the roadway or other problem has closed a road down and the driver needs to be at his destination at a specific time, the dispatcher can suggest an alternate route to keep everything on schedule. Sometimes, as in the case of delivering parts to an assembly line, even a few minutes of lateness can represent a lot of money lost. If a company has large fleets of vehicles on the road at any given time, spatial data can help to keep them all organized and on target, so every one of them ends up where it is supposed to be.

If situations have occurred in the past where a driver has taken advantage of company time and alleged he was lost, spatial data can reduce these occurrences in the future. With spatial data, the driver can be given directions with pinpoint accuracy, so there is no cause for any type of delay. Geo spatial data allows a transportation company to tighten up the overall operation, which results in financial savings for the company and increased customer satisfaction. Even with businesses like taxi services or pizza delivery, making people wait less is always a good thing. Once you gain the reputation for showing up on time all the time, people will use your company more often and talk to others about it.

Taking advantage of geospatial data management allows transportation-based businesses of all shapes and sizes take a lot of the "unforeseen problems" out of the business operation and use a more scientific approach.


----------------------------------------------------
Where your customers are located matters. Use cutting edge data management tools to improve customer relations and drive revenue.http://dmtispatial.com/en/Products/DataManagement.aspx


EasyPublish this article: http://submityourarticle.com/articles/easypublish.php?art_id=247565

No comments:

Post a Comment